Motorcycle Repair: 1985 nighthawk cb650 head noise, cycle salvage, valve rocker

Question
Hi when i purchased this bike it had a barely noticeable what seemed to be rattle in the valves hardly even noticeable.....the as i rode it all summer it slowly got worse.....and finally after 6000 miles the rattle turned it a loud tapping which made me parked it and not start it till i figured out what may be wrong........most the times when the noise occured it was after the bike ran a bit and was hot....when first starting it wasnt there..and when i got bad it also started pushing small amount of oil thru the valves cover gasket as if pressure was building up in the head.....any ideas?

Answer
Rob, There could be two problems. The rattle may be a valve rocker that worn or out of specs. The rocker is held by a bracket and the cam pushes down on the rocker arm and it pushes the valve stem down. Worse case is the cam has a flat lobe. The oil leak around the cover could be the gasket is hard or cracked or the cam plugs in the cylinder head are hard and leaking. Pull the cover off and slide it out to the side and inspect the valve train for damage or loose parts.Just for your info some of the parts are discontinued and not available any more. If for some reason you need some salvage parts try Steves Cycle Salvage in Tifton Ga. 1-800-622-9253 they have about 7 acres of new and used parts and ship all over the united states.